Margaret McLean Partner Commercial Property Group Semple Fraser LLP E: margaret.mclean @semplefraser.co.uk Tel:0131 273 3771 I want to buy an investment property at auction. Do I need to have any legal checks done? As more distressed assets come to auction, there are bargains to be had. The temptation may be to buy without doing diligence. But should you instruct a lawyer to carry out a health check before the day of the auction? Yes - here's an example why.

The Auction Particulars will contain a plan, a brief description of the property, and some basic terms of any occupational lease - the vehicle via which your income will come.

The property seems ideal, your bid is successful, you sign on the dotted line and pay your 10% deposit - what now? You've just locked yourself into an unconditional contract to buy this property - pretty much no matter what. The auctioneer will tell you how long you have to pay the price balance, and might recommend a lawyer to wrap up the conveyancing for you.

But fast forward to two weeks before completion. The lawyer calls to say the lease has a break option which the tenant has exercised, and that the lease will come to an end next month. You'll be left with a vacant property in a run down, hard to let part of town. Not the income producing asset you contracted to buy - or so you thought.

The Auction Particulars didn't mention the break option, but they did contain the usual disclaimer that the property is sold tantum et tale - "just as it is" and without any warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of the information provided to you. So, unless you can negotiate"walk-away" terms with the seller (as seems unlikely) you will be contractually bound to press on and buy this property regardless.